1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to theme or amusement park rides that simulate racing to guests while also guiding the location, speed, and position of the vehicles on the ride (e.g., the vehicles are not rider controlled such as go karts or the like), and, more particularly, to systems and methods for selectively changing the position of vehicle bodies that are carrying passengers or guests such as by altering a position of two or more vehicles (e.g., in a set of racing vehicles) so as to change the lead and trail vehicles during the course of a ride.
2. Relevant Background
Amusement parks continue to be popular worldwide with hundreds of millions of people visiting the parks each year. Park operators continuously seek new designs for thrill rides because these rides attract large numbers of people to their parks each year. Racing rides are a genre or type of ride that is very popular with guests. In theme and other parks, in addition to high-speed or thrill portions of rides, many rides incorporate a slower portion or segment to their rides to allow them to provide a “show” in which animation, movies, three-dimensional (3D) effects and displays, audio, and other effects are presented as vehicles proceed through such show portions. The show portions of rides are often run or started upon sensing the presence of a vehicle and are typically designed to be most effective when vehicles travel through the show portion at a particular speed.
As a result, it is desirable to provide a racing ride in which the speed, location, and orientation (e.g., face the riders toward a show or other display) of the vehicles can be controlled or guided, which generally rules out rider-controlled racing such as provided by go-karts and similar vehicles where the riders control their speed and location on a course. Guided or controlled vehicles are also desirable in many amusement park settings because they can be operated more safely to ensure that the vehicles do not collide with each other or structure adjacent to the track. Further, guided or controlled vehicles are also useful for providing a high guest throughput for a ride as there is less likelihood that a vehicle will be stopped on a track blocking additional vehicles from proceeding along the ride track or course.
To provide a racing simulation, ride designers have often implemented two sets of side-by-side tracks such as with racing or dueling roller coaster trains. Roller coasters normally have a predefined track loop, and riders load and unload at a platform or station such as at a low elevation when compared to the rest of the track. At the beginning of each ride cycle, a roller coaster car or a train of cars is towed up a relatively steep incline of an initial track section to the highest point on the track. The train of cars is then released from the high point and gains kinetic energy that causes the train to travel around the track circuit or loop without further energy being added and return back to the loading/unloading station. The roller coaster track typically includes various loops, turns, inversions, corkscrews, and other configurations intended to thrill the riders. Racing or dueling roller coasters typically have two side-by-side endless track loops, with the tracks parallel to each other. In this way, a roller coaster train on the first track can race with a roller coaster train on the second track. The racing feature provides added thrills and excitement for the riders as they compete with the nearby passengers of the other train.
Generally, the roller coaster trains and tracks in dueling or racing coasters are made to be nearly as equivalent as possible to provide competitive racing but such design is not adequate to provide consistently exciting or “close” races. For example, if one coaster train or track is consistently faster than the other, the racing trains will increasingly be spaced farther and farther apart as they progress over the track, and the sensation of a tight or close race is lost. As the coasters are propelled only by gravity, the coasters are evenly matched only if the coaster speed related variables such as coaster payload, coaster wheel bearing efficiency, coaster wheel concentricity, wind resistance, coaster tire to track resistance, and the like are comparable. Unfortunately, the operating variables cannot be closely controlled and change over time such that one train may be significantly faster than the other, which reduces the advantages of racing coasters.
To provide more control over the position of the vehicles, some ride designs have included two guided vehicles traveling along two separate tracks but on a guided or controlled chassis upon which each vehicle is mounted. As with the racing roller coasters, these rides have not been widely adopted in part because they are significantly more expensive because they require two sets of tracks, more park real estate or space, and separate on and off-board control systems as well as separate braking systems. From the guest or rider's perspective, the separate track designs may not be convincing and exciting racing experiences because the vehicles do not pass in the same way as race cars or other vehicles pass. In other words, the passing vehicle does not come up behind the vehicle on basically the same path or track (e.g., a race track), pass the previously leading vehicle, and then pull inline but in front of the now-trailing vehicle. Some track-switch and/or cross-over designs have been suggested for implementation with the basic two-track configuration, but such designs still do not closely simulate racing situation passing or behavior because large spacing is used to provide desired safety factors. Such features also require complicated on-board and off-board control to address safety concerns including avoiding collisions between racing vehicles, and such control systems can make such solutions cost prohibitive to implement.
Hence, there remains a need for improved systems and methods for simulating a racing experience in vehicles or cars of theme/amusement park rides. Preferably, such racing amusement park ride systems and methods would be effective for selectively positioning two or more racing vehicles relative to each other to create a racing environment where passing maneuvers are accurately implemented. Further, it may be desirable for the ride systems and methods to be relatively inexpensive to construct and operate and also be adapted for positioning the guests for show portions of the ride (e.g., viewing orientation and vehicle speed near a displayed show or an effect).